Being in the center of a bustling modern metropolis while walking through the forum is like traveling back in time by two millennia to the center of ancient Rome. The standing and fallen columns, its triumphal arches, and the remnants of its walls still impress, especially when you consider that for centuries, the history of the Forum was the history of the Roman Empire and of the Western world. However, what remains of this centre of Roman life and government only reveals a small fraction of its original splendour..
Trevi Fountain
This 17th-century masterpiece is one of the city’s most visited tourist destinations and has been shown so often in movies that a visit is now almost compulsory. It is customary to deposit one coin (not three) into the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) to ensure your return to Rome.
The Basilica of Constantine, once the most remarkable building in the Forum, is now reduced to only three grand vaulted arches. However, it is still a commanding monument that towers over its surroundings. It was started by the emperor Maxentius and completed by Constantine in 303.
The aqueduct that supplies Rome’s grandest fountain, Fontana di Trevi, was first built by Agrippa, the famous art patron of the first century BC, to supply water to his baths. The fountain was built against the back wall of the house of the Dukes of Poli between 1732 and 1751 and was designed for Pope Clement XII by Nicol Salvi.